A Falling Pine
by Winter Constellation
Summary: Mabel recieves a postcard from Ford saying that Stan is ill, and has asked her and many others to come back to Gravity Falls. As she expects her uncle to not last long, what she doesnt expect is what he tells her.
1. Chapter 1 (06-09 16:24:06)

Mabel Pines stared at the letter in her hand, shocked. She hadn't heard from anyone in her family for a long time, but she had always hoped for someone to make contact. However, as time passed, no one, not even her twin brother, made the attempt. She often wondered why Dipper never made the effort to reach out to her. He had usually been so dependent on being in close contact with others, so his distance confused Mabel. " _Maybe we just drifted apart_ " she thought to herself, " _we can't stay young forever_."

It was true, Dipper had moved on without giving his sister much thought. After high school, he continued to college and graduated with his Master's degree in Computer Science. He always figured it was impossible to lose touch with his twin, but he soon proved it to be very possible. The last time he had seen Mabel was when he was saying goodbye to her and their parents, going off to study at The California Institute of Technology.

Since then, Mabel had gone to the local community college and gotten her Associates degree in Fine Arts. She and Dipper slowly lost contact as their lives took separate paths. She did miss him, but knew nothing more about him than what she did when they had parted ways. She could only remember him as a young adult, waving goodbye with a bright smile on his face. It had been 5 years since then, which left Mabel without a clue of who he was with, how he looked, or what he was doing with his life.

But now, the crumpled paper and envelope in her hand intrigued her. The return address that was scribbled on was from Gravity Falls, Oregon. It looked as if it was written quickly, in a sloppy, blotchy pen. Mabel opened the letter to find a small postcard with a picture of the woods of her childhood summers in Gravity Falls. Memories flooded back to Mabel as she remembered the lazy days under the sun with the people she cared for so much.

" _What is everyone up to anyways_?" she thought. She flipped the postcard over to find the same writing as was on the address. It read, " **Please come! Quickly!** " -Stanford Pines.

There was another small piece of scrap paper inside the envelope, with a longer note. Mabel, noticing the urgency of the previous writings, swiftly snatched the paper and read with avid interest.

" **Mabel, I have sent out similar cards to Dipper and other friends. We have a problem. Despite my current health issues, it appears that Stan has taken a turn for the worse. He has asked that you, along with others come see him. He was rather frantic, so I suggest you hurry. Please be here soon. I'm afraid we don't have much time.** "

As the urgency of the situation set in, the good memories began to fade. The bad memories emerged, with thoughts of Bill Cipher, Gideon Gleeful, heartbreak, and arguments. Although Mabel viewed Gravity Falls as a magical and youthful place, it had taken its toll on her and had made her realize that the world isn't always perfect.

However, she had never lost her charm and her wit. She still had the same bouncy hair and bright clothing choices as ever, but she felt incomplete without the people she loved. Her creativity was a lot for another person to handle, leaving her quite lonely at the worst of times. Most times, she wasn't sure if it was her personality, or aesthetic that drove people away.

She was sure of one thing, though. She needed to start preparing for a little road trip to Gravity Falls, and she needed to hurry.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, where's that suitcase?" Dipper muttered frantically. He rushed to his attic and grabbed a big cardboard box labeled "traveling stuff". He had recently moved to his new house, so most of his non-essential items were still stored away. " _Packing is going to he a lot harder than_ usual." He thought. With a perplexed look, he grabbed a large luggage bag from the box and began packing up various shirts, shoes, and shorts. His old lumberjack hat already rested on his head, and a blue vest was on his shoulders. He added a few more items to his bag and began scouring the rest of his house for anything else he would need to bring. As he passed a mirror, he took a glance, and saw himself, but younger. An adventrous teen packing for a similar summer trip, years ago. Not much had changed, yet _everything_ had changed.

Dipper Pines was not a man that changed much from his younger years. He still wore his same old shorts and vest, and made a point to constantly wear a worn out hat that a certain special girl gave him several summers ago. The only things that had changed about him at all were his height, and the small stubble on his chin. He had always seen his look from his teen years as fitting for him, so he never made the effort to change it.

"Think, Dipper, think," he said to himself, "what else do I need?" In a single motion, he picked up the postcard and note he had received from his Great Uncle off of the ground, and shoved it into his pocket. He strided into an office which he was in the middle of setting up and picked up a book with a faded and worn cover. Dipper brought it closer to his face examining it. He debated whether or not he should bring the book or not. The air of mystery about it, the golden hand, the crispy pages, all had an intimidating yet magical sense of secrecy.

" _Well if I don't need it,"_ he thought to himself, " _Ford might_." He brought it to the suitcase, set it gently on top, and finally felt good about closing up his luggage. Although he had some doubts about what could happen if he brought the book back, he knew that if he was in a pinch, he could count on the world of weird that lay inside of the book to help him out. It had many times in the past.

Dipper withdrew the letter from his pocket to read it again to see if there was anything in there to signify what else he needed. He knew that things must be pretty serious for Ford to have let his beloved pristine handwriting slip away. For instead, there was disheveled, angular lines instead of the usual curly and perfect. The note read: " **Dipper, these letters have gone out to many of our close friends, including your sister. I'm afraid that Stan has recently suffered from cardiac arrest and is currently in the hospital. Professionals say he probably won't last long which is why you must come to Gravity Falls _immediately_ However, I have a favor to ask of you. We both know that Mabel was very close to Stan. I didn't tell her many details of what happened, knowing that her reaction would be... less than practical. I was hoping when you arrived to Gravity Falls you could speak with her about it. I must go and attend to other matters. Best of luck to you, and I look forward to seeing you again."**

"Mabel?" Dipper said to himself, "I-it's been so long. Too long." He felt his eyes burn as he swallowed back the lump in his throat. Regret had suddenly boiled in his chest as he grabbed his phone; the final item, and hauled his bag out to his SUV. He popped in a cheesy old BABBA CD to his car and opened his phone. It took a while, but he eventually found the phone number he was looking for. The contact picture was them at their graduation: one of their last few days seeing each other.

"Okay, why are my hands shaking?" he said, "it's literally just my twin sister..." "...that I haven't talked to in almost 5 years..." "you know what? I'll just text her. Y-yeah, that's better than calling anyways, right?" He began typing, trying to casually throw in a " _what are you up to lately?"_ or a, _"well we haven't talked in a while,"_ but Dipper just couldn't get it to sound right. Eventually, he remembered that he was short on time as it was, so he settled for a small text that didn't fit half of what he needed to say. "We'll talk everything out," he said "In Gravity Falls." He pressed send and started his car.

"Disco girl, coming through, that girl is you! Oo Oo Oo, Oo Oo Oo!" He sang as he rolled down the dusty road to a sleepy town of memories.


End file.
